The Inhuman Theorem
by Skye Coulson
Summary: So, Charlie and Don both find out the hard way that they're Inhuman. This is their journey to learn to control their newfound abilities. Charlie/Colby, Don/May


**The Inhuman Theorem**

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 **Disclaimer:  
** As always, I own nothing.

 **Rating:  
** T

 **Genre:  
** Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Angst

 **Pairings:  
** Charlie/Colby  
Don/May

 **Lyrics Used:  
** All That Remains - "A Reason For Me To Fight"

 **Author's Note:  
** This fic takes place in a universe where SHIELD has become a legit, government agency. Just thought I'd throw that out there, 'cause that's how I see this fic in my head.

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A Reason For Me To Fight

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 _Fight the fight, doesn't matter why | Got a job to do, and we do it right | The look in your eyes, act surprised | What have we just done_

 _And, now, I'm making a promise to get through | We'll tear it all down and light the fuse | And, all I know, I won't leave you behind | And, that's a reason for me to fight | That's a reason for me to_

 _No cavalry left that we can call | We're on our own, backs against the wall | We both have spilt our blood before | Don't give up on me, now_

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It all started out just like any other day at the office for Special Agent Don Eppes and his team of FBI agents. They'd been called to the scene of a bombing, downtown. However, everything changed soon after they arrived on the scene. Pulling up to the demolished office building, Don and his team first noticed that all the debris was covered in a strange blue dust. As he crouched down to investigate the strange dust, Don suddenly snapped back to his feet as he and his younger brother, Charlie Eppes, both whipped around as a sudden warning sounded from behind them. "Don't touch that!" Snapped a middle-aged man in a suit – similar to the ones worn by the men on Don's team – and a strange mask over his nose and mouth.

"I'm sorry." Don began, carefully, as he slid his sunglasses off of his face to get a better look at the gentleman standing before him as a young Asian-American woman came to stand next to him wearing the same mask. "Who are you?" Don questioned, his voice all business.

"Agent Phil Coulson." The man identified himself, as he held up a badge and ID much like the one Don and his agents carried – though, he noticed that the logo on the badge was different. "SHIELD." The gentleman added, noting the suspicious look on the FBI agent's face.

"All right, well, Agent Coulson…" Don began, moving to usher intruding agent off of his crime scene. "My name is Special Agent Don Eppes, FBI, and this is my crime scene. Unless you have any pertinent information that might be helpful to my team, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

"I wouldn't, if I were you." The young woman next to Agent Coulson interjected. "Agent Daisy Johnson." She added, holding up her own badge. "You don't know it, yet, but this is actually _our_ crime scene." She corrected. "You see all this blue dust, everywhere?" Daisy added, cutting off the interruption she knew was coming from the FBI agent. "That's Terrigen. Unless any of your agents are Inhuman, I'd advise you to warn them not to touch it … Unless you don't mind sacrificing a few of your agents."

"Excuse me?!" Don snapped, incredulously. "Are you threatening my team?" Curious about the interaction between their boss and the SHIELD agents, Charlie and the rest of Don's team slowly began to gather around to watch the exchange.

"No, that's not what I'm doing." Daisy replied, calmly. "I _am_ Inhuman and I can tell you – for a fact – that if any of your agents touch it – unless they're Inhuman, like me – it will kill them within moments. … Believe me … I've seen it happen." She elaborated, simply. "You and your team are not equipped to handle this crime scene. We are." She added, casually, unfazed by the glare directed at her by Agent Eppes. "Not to mention that Inhumans are outside your jurisdiction."

"What makes you so sure Inhumans were behind this?" Special Agent Colby Granger questioned, curiously.

"Were you not listening to me?!" Daisy asked, sarcastically. "I just _told_ you … Only Inhumans can survive handling this stuff. Hell, you guys are lucky the mist settled before you got here, or else, you'd all be dead, already." She deadpanned. "Just inhaling this stuff is lethal to humans." She added. "Not to mention only Inhumans even _know_ about this stuff." The young SHIELD agent finished, almost as an afterthought.

Before anyone else could say anything, Charlie looked up and saw an unstable beam ready to fall directly on top of Colby. "COLBY!" The young mathematician cried, charging into the blonde FBI agent's chest – effectively knocking the FBI agent off his feet and away from the falling debris – as the SHIELD agents rushed to get masks on all of the FBI agents as the beam crashed to the floor – atop the brave mathematician – sending a cloud of the fine blue dust into the air. They succeeded, though – due to his struggling when he watched the beam fall on his younger brother – they hadn't been able to get a mask on Agent Eppes. Before he could even call out to his brother, Don noticed a stone-like substance encasing the mathematician as well as himself.

For his part, Colby hadn't even noticed Don as his heart clenched, painfully, in his chest as he watched Charlie seemingly turn to stone. He couldn't even _begin_ to wrap his mind around what was happening. _No! No, Charlie can't be dead … He just … He can't._ The FBI agent thought to himself as he felt time cease as the world around him froze. "Charlie." The choked whisper barely escaped his mouth around the growing lump in his throat – unheard by those around him, thanks to his mask. Charlie – _his_ Charlie – was gone and it was all his fault. If he'd just been paying more attention to his surroundings, Charlie wouldn't have had to dive under that falling beam to save him.

As the shock gave way to grief, Colby turned his gaze toward Don as he noticed his teammates – and the SHIELD agents – shifting their gazes back and forth between the two Eppes brothers. Before he could process another thought, he noticed the young Asian-American agent – Daisy, was it? – calling to someone through a concealed radio like the ones they so often used. Though, he couldn't hear what she was saying as he stared at his colleagues encased in stone.

Suddenly, the earth beneath them began to quake as the stone encasing their friends suddenly shattered. Colby was just about to think that they both looked the same until he noticed Don struggling against the SHIELD agents' grips on him with an utterly feral look in his eyes as he noticed that it was taking five SHIELD agents to hold him back as they attempted to calm him down. As he approached Charlie to see if the mathematician was okay, he jumped back as a large white cube with windows crashed to the ground – surrounding Charlie. "CHARLIE!" Colby cried, lunging at the cube – desperately searching for a way to get to the mathematician that had stolen his heart.

Though, his attention was soon drawn back to Don as another crash sounded. Turning to face Don, Colby and the rest of his team watched in shock as another one of the same cubes that had encased Charlie encompassed Don who was scratching and clawing at the windows like some sort of wild animal. Soon, one of the SHIELD agents – a young woman with shoulder length brown hair – managed to jab him with a needle from behind before the FBI agent collapsed to the ground – unconscious – before taking her leave as the cubes ascended into the air before disappearing from view.

"What the hell is going on, here?!" Colby growled in anger.

"Yeah, where the hell are you taking our friends?!" Agent David Sinclair demanded.

"And, just what the hell do you intend to do with them?!" Agent Liz Warner demanded, in addition.

"Agents, please…" Coulson interjected, holding his hands up for the FBI agents to cease their interrogation. "I can assure you your friends are perfectly safe."

Before any of the FBI agents could protest, Daisy cut in. "I understand your concern, but, those cubes are for your friends' own protection." She began. "Your friends – as luck would have it – appear to be Inhuman, after all." She continued on. "Those rooms are specially designed and built to contain and suppress their newfound abilities. This will keep them safe – as well as the rest of us – while we attempt to understand just what they're really capable of and help them learn to control their abilities – rather than the alternative which is to let their abilities control them." The young SHIELD agent explained.

"Where are you taking them?" Colby questioned, struggling to remain calm.

"We're taking them back to our headquarters where they will stay until they have mastered control over their new abilities." Agent Coulson replied.

"I wanna see them." Colby demanded, as the rest of his team nodded their agreement. "Make sure they're okay."

"You'll have to stay outside of their containment cubes." The agent that had jabbed Don with the needle interjected.

"But, yes." Agent Coulson added, before the FBI agents could protest. "You may see them." He added. Turning to an older Asian-American agent, he continued. "Agent May, you and Yo-Yo stay here and finish processing the scene. Daisy, you and Fitzsimmons come with me." He added, turning back to the FBI agents. "Come. We'll take you to see your friends." Agent Coulson finished as he and Daisy guided the FBI agents back to their vehicles to escort them back to their headquarters.

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 **Author's Note:  
** Please be kind. It's been a while since I've written anything and this is my first Agents of SHIELD/Numb3rs crossover. That being said, I hope y'all enjoyed reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. And, if ya did, don't forget to drop me a review and subscribe!


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